


Gundham Tanaka, A Backstory

by OzzieSalted



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Angst, Backstory, Character Death, Character Study, Child Abuse, Despair Gundham is mentioned, Gundham is kind of a liar, Hurt No Comfort, Neglect, TW:, gundham tanaka - Freeform, mention of Hajime Hinata, mention of Nagito Komaeda, mention of abortion, mention of murder, my own theory btw, out of character gundham tanaka, please stay safe if this triggers you, this is made out of headcanons by the way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-12 13:21:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29885184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OzzieSalted/pseuds/OzzieSalted
Summary: My rendition of Gundham Tanaka’s Past.
Kudos: 6





	Gundham Tanaka, A Backstory

**Author's Note:**

> PLEASE LOOK AT TAGS BEFORE READING!! this is pretty hardcore so i don’t blame you for skipping past this one! i hope you stick around though. 
> 
> i’m actually lowkey proud of this B)  
> i don’t think it’s too long so yeah, bare with me —

Gundham Tanaka’s world was purely fictional and he knew that more than anyone. He didn’t need reminding that he was ‘peculiar’ or strange’, trust me, the ravenette KNEW all this. The teen was the one to construct this universe with loving, pale hands and it was the only thing that kept him sane, including his mother of course.

In this world that he made, deities and hopeful spirits existed, spells and mantras actually worked and healing spells were lined on pages in an ancient language that only he could understand — even though the letters were similar to latin. 

Gundham MADE this world and he adored it, it was the only thing that made him feel safe from the yelling and the fighting that happened often between his parents, the shout of ‘THE BOY IS A BASTARD, YOU SHOULD OF ABORTED HIM!’ with the quivering yet passionate response of ‘HE IS MY SON! HE IS WORTH MORE THAN ANYTHING IN THIS WORLD!’ though, she brushed off the fighting and stayed with the man. It was only a ‘petty’ fight as she quotes and still clutched onto his shirt and kissed his filthy mouth.

It was tiring and Gundham knew that his home life wasn’t safe, he knew that his childhood wasn’t the most ‘average’, at least that’s how his mom said it. She always said things so nicely, calmly too.  
“Your father is just... a little grumpy today, don’t worry, bubba.”  
“He’ll be better tomorrow! He didn’t mean to hit you!”

Gundham, even if he was a nine year old who wasn’t supposed to know the mental damage of abuse, knew that she was clinging too tightly to him, despite his old man’s comments about herself and her son. He understood that trauma was a connection to this and that his mother loved his father with all her little, wounded heart. It disgusted him.

Things sort of changed when he turned fourteen. 

His father had made the move to divorce his mother, she was apparently ‘a little whiny bitch’ who ‘clung onto him too much and was a bother’ — Mr. Tanaka’s words, not his. Though, Gundham sighed a large breath of relief, the violence would stop! He wouldn’t be hurt anymore, no blood will pour from his skin again! His mom would be happy!! Never will Gundham Tanaka see him again! Happy Ending!

~

Welp, that didn’t last long.

Not a month later and somehow he ended up at his father’s doorstep. The hope of never seeing his ‘loving’ sperm donor again died instantly when his mother said at the dinner table, “Your father has been getting therapy! He wants to start again... imagine all the father-son trips you could go on! Ohh! That’d be so sweet!”

Gundham had went to his apartment on the other side of the small, poor town the lived in and with that, the bandaids and the bandages returned, the bruises had gotten worse and everything just... hurt. He wanted to cry, sob and scream but that would get him kick and shoved around. 

He was thankful that his mother was looking after his precious devas and other hellish creatures for him. Gundham was always going to be thankful for her, despite her foolish choices.

Gundham was grateful.

~

Gundham always heard the whispers at school.

‘is he okay? why so many bandages??’  
‘why does he look so scrawny??’

He honestly didn’t mind. It was fair that his injuries would bring up some type of curiosity, whether it be a silent look of worry or whispers and rumours. He understood that. Even when he got into Hope’s Peak, people still whispered about it, questioning the wounds silently.

During his time at Hope’s Peak, he constantly lied about his mental health and how life was like at home. Gundham always said that he got the scars from his animals and while it was partly the truth, the actual answer was never revealed. The pale man never had the need to say ‘my dad hits me, he doesn’t love me, he’s trying to kill me’ because if he relied on people then they could use that information against him, at least that’s what his instincts were saying at the time.

When it came to what he was thinking, he knew he was unstable, not in the way that you’d go crazy but Gundham often lost himself. Cried sometimes and felt nothing other times, at some points, he’d completely forget how to talk or blink so he stopped functioning as a person, even in class.   
His Zoology teacher (more like ‘adult to keep an eye on them’) had sometimes noticed this behaviour, however, Gundham always brushed it off... as usual.

Gundham Tanaka was a liar.

~

In the Neo Program, he had lied to Hajime.

It was practically impossible to not lie about his home life at this point, after all, he was lying all his life, ‘my mother is a kind angel and my father is nothing more but a demon who left us to rot’ no, his father WAS present but in the wrongest of ways, though, Hajime and the others who asked would never know that. Lie, Lie, Lie. 

That’s a good line. 

In the horrible times of the killing game, he still had his iron walls up and had shrouded himself in the world he created as a child. Gundham even spoke in the language that he had scribed himself, which had evolved into cryptic japanese or, as everyone else called it, ‘weird and bold.’

Gundham didn’t care for what they said about him. The redhead photographer had been rude and even compared him to that white haired bastard that he strongly disliked, ‘reminds me of dad’ he would think to himself. Nagito’s behaviour was always unintentional but it somehow scared the ravenette to the core.

Nagito reminded him of his dad, only with no bottle and no will to punch him. He supposed that it was okay, Nagito wouldn’t hit people, despite his strange behaviour... though when he killed Nekomaru, he wanted to be hit. He deserved it after all, he was almost tempted to say ‘HIT ME! I — KNOCK SOME SENSE INTO ME! BEAT ME!’ though he held his tongue. Gundham was going to die anyway.

Gundham deserved to be hit... that’s what he thinks, at least.

~

When he was in despair, he killed his father.

Gundham didn’t remember that until he woke up from the Neo-World Program. His mother had lived, thankfully and had told him of what had happened on the outside and what he did.   
“You killed people, Gundham. That’s what happened.” Her voice was still gentle, “though, you didn’t mean to... you were under some hypnotism of some sorts, so I don’t blame you, dear.”   
“I... killed people? More than one?”  
“Thousands.” She had put a hand on his shoulder but immediately shrugged it off, not trusting himself. Gundham could feel his eyes become watery, his hands shaking softly, “how can you even trust me, mom? I did a bad thing, just like dad did. Am I like dad?”  
“No, sweetie. You’re not like your father and you never will be.”

Gundham didn’t believe her.


End file.
